New Doctor Who figures dip by 1.2m viewers

Tough act to follow: new Doctor Matt Smith, with assistant Karen Gillan, took over in theTardis from David Tennant

Viewing figures for Doctor Who have dropped by 1.2 million since Matt Smith took over as the new Time Lord, according to the latest TV ratings.

The 27-year-old actor and assistant Karen Gillan, 22, were expected to continue the success of the previous Doctor, David Tennant, whose last full series was in 2008.

The new series has had an average of six million viewers, down from 7.2 million for Tennant. But the BBC claims viewing figures have held and that more people are watching on demand through media such as BBC iPlayer.

Paul Gambaccini has been signed up as the face of a new television channel catering for the over-fifties to be launched in September. Vintage TV will cover music, fashion and trends and from the Forties to the Eighties and show classics such as The South Bank Show and The Old Grey Whistle Test.